Like most of people, this is the time of the year that I like to reflect on my goals, actions, behaviors and decisions of this year 2015 and to plan my goals and actions for the next year.

But this year I will add something new to this process: I will also set up my intentions.

 In reality, this is already something that I have been doing for a while like setting my intentions for the day, for a meeting, for a radio interview, for a coaching session with my coachees, for my own meditation and yoga practices, for the time I spend with my family and my friends etc… I just found this experience so powerful. I feel that it brings more intentions to everything I do, it grounds me more into the present moment, lets me be more engaged into my journey and not only focusing on the destination. I feel by the way that by combining the two, I enjoy more both: the journey and the destination. And compared to the goal setting process which requires mainly cognitive processes like analyzing, planning, imagining, reasoning, I find that with intention setting, it allows me to express myself more from my heart.

What is the difference between setting a goal and setting an intention?

Goals are something you want to achieve, to do, and you are ready to make some effort for that. It is about choosing where you want to be in your life.

Intentions are more about how you want to be in your life. They are some guiding principles on how you want to be, live and show up in this world, how you want to be aligned to and embody your values and your desires. It is a way of being connected to your authenticity and to what matters most for you. It can be a purpose, an attitude, an aim that you deeply commit to.

So:

• Goals are more focused on the future and the destination, whereas intentions are more about the journey and the present moment.
• Goals are more extrinsic, whereas intentions are more intrinsic.
• You plan to reach your goals in the future, and you live your intentions now each day.

How do I do that?

I like the process that Mike Robbins presents in his article[i]. You first start to set your intentions. From them, you define your SMART[ii] goals and then the actions for each of these goals that will help you manifest your goals and intentions. It is also useful to determine your support system: hiring a coach, get a buddy, setting up or joining a support group etc…

Let’s look at this process from a real example: for this year, one of my intentions is to unleash my authentic voice and creative juice. So I have set the goal to write for at least 10 minutes per day and to have published 1 book in 2016. My action plan is built around creating the space (physical and time) for writing, continuing to be an active participant of the KL writers’ group founded by my friend Jo Parfitt[iii], and not stopping writing until I have reached the time limit. 10 minutes is voluntarily easy to reach because I believe that when you want to start and stick to a new routine, it is easier to use the strategy of “quick wins”. This will enable you to build your new habit, the condition sine qua none for changing.

For me, it is not goals versus intentions, I believe that by combining both it is even more powerful. And I encourage you to do both, however, for those who feel too overwhelmed by the goal setting process, setting your intentions is already a good start.

Whatever you choose to do, just remember that “Every journey begins with the first step of articulating the intention, and then becoming the intention” (Bryant McGill, Voice of Reason).

My questions to you:

• How do you usually set your resolutions for the New Year? How will you set your resolutions for 2016?
• How do you want to be, live and show up in the world?

http://www.nadegeesteban.com/blog/why-do-i-set-goals-and-intentions-for-the-new-year